Rugby, Savea on Italy-New Zealand

The All Blacks in the match in Rome with Italy on 6 November will send a very experimental team onto the field, you know. It is inevitable on such a long tour that coach Ian Foster and his staff are obliged to have a certain alternation of men.

Between Washington’s comfortable victory over the United States and then the very clear one in Cardiff with Wales last Saturday, 37 of the 39 players called up took to the field. And those who have not done so will have their chance in Rome. The problem for the Azzurri is that, as flanker Ardie Savea said last night in an online press meeting, many quality young people have entered the All Blacks group as never before.

Competition At least since he has also been in the national team. “I’ve never experienced such a thing,” says Savea. “Usually in the team there was always a well-defined XV, but the team group of 23 was more or less that too. Now we can no longer say why young people have entered who are playing wonderfully, train beautifully, learn quickly and then show it on the pitch. So we don’t think so much about who will take the field in the next match, because we are all at our best. The younger ones learn from the more experienced and there is competition for every position. And I have to say it’s great to be involved in this situation on such a long tour that it will keep us away from home for 15 weeks ”. Of the group of 39 players available to Foster, in the first two games only two did not take the field, the prop Ofa Tuungafasi and the flanker Shannon Frizell: unless physical problems, it is easy to hypothesize their use on Saturday.

Role Savea, promoted to captain with Sam Cane’s injury and then confirmed in the role also with the return of the flanker, also admits that the match against Wales was not easy, despite the many absences in the opposing team and the final 54-16 : “Someone had played in Washington, but many of us haven’t played since the last match against South Africa in the Rugby Championship. This is why we have relied on simple things, the basics of rugby. One flaw: we still grant too many foolish punishments, we are working on it ”. And if it is his turn to play number 8 or flanker, at the moment it is not a problem: he will certainly not play with Italy, but then in the two matches with Ireland and France he will be regularly in his place. “I really don’t care where they let me play. My only goal – says Savea – is to prepare myself well during the week and then do my best and with a smile on my face what I love: playing rugby ”.